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Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
7.0
final rating

reviewed on
this review has been viewed 106 times

Criteria Comments Rating
  • Reception and call quality The call quality on T-Mobile's network was subpar due to the lack of AWS bands and the location of the antenna being covered when held during a call. so-so
  • Display The recessed screen made it easy to get dirty, the pixel density was very good, the resistive screen so-so
  • Battery life Battery was good enough to get through a day of heavy texting and some calling on T-Mobile. Web browsing in EDGE will kill the battery. so-so
  • Camera No comments —
  • Ease of use Windows Mobile 6.1 is not the easiest to navigate and Sony Ericsson's "Panel" UI did not add much value or ease. The joystick is very finicky and hard to use. poor
  • Design and form factor The aluminum body gives it a high quality feeling, the industrial design is breathtaking. great!
  • Portability (size / weight) It is a heavy device, but that adds to the quality of the feel. The thickness could be a turnoff for most. so-so
  • Media support Sony Ericsson gives you a homescreen dedicated to just listen to music, watch videos, and view photos in a slick UI presentation. good
  • Durability After one year, the hardware keyboard has stopped working and looking around online, it seems to be an ongoing issue. poor
  • Ecosystem (apps, accessories, etc.) Windows Mobile Marketplace is severely lacking and to get the most of the device, you would have to head over to XDA. poor
Detailed review
The XPERIA X1 was Sony Ericsson's first attempt into the Windows Mobile Platform. It was highly anticipated because of its very slick and sexy industrial design and the early previews of the "Panel" interface was shown to be fast and responsive. The design looks better in person, the weight of the device helps it feel high class and sturdy. It features a 3" resistive touchscreen with a WVGA resolution which makes the pixel density on this 311 PPI. It makes text great to read and websites look great on this screen. It also has a 3.2 MP camera with a flash and dedicated camera key. The pictures snap are alright for viewing on the phone and uploading to the internet, but it will not replace your point and shoot, and forget about the video recording. Windows Mobile 6.1 is still a very laggy interface and not very touch friendly without the stylus. The joystick is very hard to use and the sensitivity on it is very hard to guess and set. The keyboard is a four-row keyboard without a dedicated number row, and after one year of use, some keys (F, H, and L for me) stop working even with multiple services and factory resets. In the year of 2011, the industrial design still stands out to me as sexy and unique, but other than that there is no reason to buy this device.